GOODYEAR, Ariz. – For baseball’s oldest franchise, it’s fitting that a new idea is really an old one in disguise. That’s the case when it comes to how the Cincinnati Reds plan to close out games.

Reds manager Bryan Price has talked about it since the middle of last season. He doesn’t want to get “cliché” with his bullpen, he said. And with a pair of young former starters ready to take over the late innings in Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen, the Reds are poised to have a set of alternating, multi-inning closers.

Compared to the staid bullpen deployment of the last decade, with relievers slotted firmly into single-inning roles, it’s an interesting way of attacking the final innings of games. Both right-handers could theoretically wind up with more than 100 innings out of the bullpen, many of them in high-leverage situations.

It feels new, but it’s not.

“We may set back the clock,” said Price, “and say there are more ways than one to skin a cat.”

An old method

Hundred-inning relievers are not unheard of in baseball. In fact, it’s been accomplished 343 times, most recently by Scott Proctor in 2006. But what about two 100-inning relievers in one bullpen? Not that uncommon either.

Before bullpens were modernized and bullpen roles specialized, plenty of teams had guys who pitched the final few innings of games. There have been 33 instances in baseball history where a team has produced two 100-inning relievers, spanning from 1962 to 1999. It happened five times in 1982 alone.

It’s not even that old of an idea for the Reds. Cincinnati has done it twice, first in 1986 with John Franco and Ron Robinson, who combined for 217 2/3 innings and 84 games finished. The Reds are also the most recent team to do it – in 1999, Scott Sullivan and Danny Graves pitched a combined 224 2/3 innings and together finished 72 games.

Reds closer Danny Graves in 2000.(Photo: Enquirer file)

Baseball moved away from that model as teams realized they could more efficiently attack the final outs of games by using specific pitchers in specific roles. But now teams might be finally willing to break out of that role.

The latter two in that list got paid this offseason, pulling in a combined $166 million over the next five years. Miller will make $9 million over the next two years, and will probably hit the jackpot on the free agent market after that.

It shows teams are paying for more than just three outs in the ninth these days.

“I think we’re seeing the lines between starter and reliever blurred a little bit,” said David Stearns, general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. “We certainly saw that this offseason with the valuations that were placed on premium relievers. They were valuations that were similar to those placed on very good starting pitchers. We’re recognizing the impact that relievers can make on wins and losses.”

Modern challenges

When it comes to bullpens, doing something different presents challenges. Even if it’s an older idea made new again. Baseball players are notorious for being creatures of habit, and relievers may be the most resistant to change. As several managers and general managers said when asked about the Reds’ bullpen model, you have to have the right personnel.

And the Reds just might have the right two guys to do it. Lorenzen and Iglesias check a lot of boxes. They are young – 25 and 27, respectively – incredibly talented, and were starters as recently as a year ago. Not only are they adept at pitching multiple innings at a time, they’ve never had to be a reliever in any other fashion.

“From a health standpoint and from just an emotional standpoint, it is important that you’re not changing the way someone’s done things for a long time,” said David Forst, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics.

A particular sticking point could be how the arbitration system overvalues or undervalues relievers. Counting stats like saves may not tell much of the story as to who are the game’s best relief arms, but they do determine hefty salary bumps once a player reaches three years of service time. Young relievers often want to close because it’s perceived to be atop the bullpen pecking order, but also because it ultimately pays more.

But the Reds may be fortunate to avoid that trap. Iglesias has never been promised the closer’s role. He’s also on a long-term deal that offers him financial security but also allows him to opt into arbitration at any point. Lorenzen is several years away from worrying about arbitration and wants to be on the cutting edge anyway.

“I like being innovative, I like taking chances and being a little different,” he said. “Not necessarily doing what everyone else is doing just because that’s what everyone else is doing. I think we’re taking a step in the right direction.”

If the players buy in, the final hurdle is keeping them healthy for an entire year. That may be Price’s biggest challenge. Teams may have run relievers out there for triple-digit innings all throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but pitchers can’t be ridden that hard anymore without running into arm problems.

Lorenzen and Iglesias will need rest. That means limiting how many time they get hot without coming into a game and being regimented with their rest. When asked, Iglesias said through interpreter Julio Morillo that he’d likely need two days of rest whenever he pitched two innings or more. Other relievers like Blake Wood, Drew Storen and Tony Cingrani will have to pick up the slack when both Lorenzen and Iglesias are down.

It’s possible the Reds get to the end of the season and find themselves with a terrifying, 200-inning closer tag team. They’re not the only ones eager to see what happens.

“I do think they have really good candidates,” Forst said. “I’m as curious as anyone to see how it plays out.”